Seamless coexistence of heterogenous networks

Abstract

Disclosed are systems, apparatuses, methods, and computer-readable media for providing interoperable heterogenous networks. A method comprises configuring a logical network with a first network and a second network; receiving a request message from a source device by the first border device in the first network, wherein the request message includes a related to a media access control (MAC) address associated with a destination device in the second network; sending a proxy message to the second border device based on the request message, the proxy message having a source address that identifies an external IP address associated with the first border device; receiving a response message including the MAC address of the destination device, wherein the response message is addressed to the external address of the first border device; and sending a border gateway protocol (BGP) update including the MAC address of the destination device.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method, comprising:
 configuring a logical network with a first network and a second network, wherein the first network and the second network are interconnected via a first border device in the first network and a second border device in the second network; 
 receiving a request message at the first border device in the first network, wherein the request message is related to a media access control (MAC) address associated with a destination device in the second network; 
 sending, in response to receiving the request message, a proxy message to the destination device based on the request message, the proxy message having a source address that identifies an external address associated with the first border device; 
 receiving, in response to sending the proxy message, a response message including the MAC address of the destination device, wherein the response message is addressed to the external address of the first border device; 
 sending, in response to receiving the response message, a border gateway protocol (BGP) update including the MAC address and an IP address of the destination device; 
 wherein the second network includes a centralized gateway; 
 wherein the second network implements with a redundancy protocol to fallback to a standby passive gateway when the centralized gateway becomes unavailable. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the request message is received by the first border device using a default IP address that is different from the external IP address and includes a source IP address of a gateway of the source device. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the request message is based on one of an address resolution protocol (ARP) request and an ARP refresh associated with the source device. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the source device does not receive a response to the request message, and wherein the BGP update causes the source device to receive the MAC address and the IP address of the destination device. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the request message includes a source MAC address of an anycast gateway and the proxy message comprises a MAC address associated with a virtual device context (VDC) of the first border device. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the external IP address prevents the response message from being consumed by the centralized gateway. 
     
     
       7. He method of  claim 1 , wherein the proxy message is sent in lieu of the request message. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the source device in the first network sends a packet to the destination device in the second network after learning the MAC address of the destination device. 
     
     
       9. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions, the instructions, when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to perform operations comprising:
 receive a request message at the network device in a first network, wherein the request message is a related to a request to retrieve a media access control (MAC) address associated with a destination device in a second network, and wherein the first network and the second network are interconnected via the network device and a second border device in the second network; 
 send, in response to receiving the request message, a proxy message to the destination device based on the request message, the proxy message having a source address that identifies an external address associated with the first border device; 
 receive, in response to sending the proxy message, a response message including the MAC address of the destination device, wherein the response message is addressed to the external address of the first border device; and 
 send, in response to receiving the response message, a border gateway protocol (BGP) update including the MAC address and an IP address of the destination device; 
 wherein the second network includes a centralized gateway; 
 wherein the second network implements with a redundancy protocol to fallback to a standby passive gateway when the centralized gateway becomes unavailable. 
 
     
     
       10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 9 , wherein the request message is received by the first border device using a default IP address that is different from the external IP address and includes a source IP address of a gateway of the source device. 
     
     
       11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 10 , wherein the request message is based on one of an address resolution protocol (ARP) request and an ARP refresh associated with the source device. 
     
     
       12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 10 , wherein the source device does not receive a response to the request message, and wherein the BGP update causes the source device to receive the MAC address and the IP address of the destination device. 
     
     
       13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 9 , wherein the request message includes a source MAC address of an anycast gateway and the proxy message comprises a MAC address associated with a virtual device context (VDC) of the first border device. 
     
     
       14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 9 , wherein the external IP address prevents the response message being consumed by the centralized gateway. 
     
     
       15. A network device comprising:
 a storage configured to store instructions; and 
 a processor configured to execute the instructions and cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
 receive a request message at the network device in a first network, wherein the request message is a related to a request to retrieve a media access control (MAC) address associated with a destination device in a second network, and wherein the first network and the second network are interconnected via the network device and a second border device in the second network; 
 send, in response to receiving the request message, a proxy message to the destination device based on the request message; 
 receive, in response to sending the proxy message, a response message including the MAC address of the destination device, wherein the response message is addressed to the external address of the first border device; and 
 
 send, in response to receiving the response message, a border gateway protocol (BGP) update including the MAC address and an IP address of the destination device; 
 wherein the second network includes a centralized gateway; 
 wherein the second network implements with a redundancy protocol to fallback to a standby passive gateway when the centralized gateway becomes unavailable. 
 
     
     
       16. The network device of  claim 15 , wherein the request message is received by the first border device using a default IP address that is different from the external IP address and includes a source IP address of a gateway of the source device. 
     
     
       17. The network device of  claim 16 , wherein the request message is based on one of an address resolution protocol (ARP) request and an ARP refresh associated with the source device. 
     
     
       18. The network device of  claim 16 , wherein the source device does not receive a response to the request message, and wherein the BGP update causes the source device to receive the MAC address and the IP address of the destination device.